Elderly US citizen fined after bullet found in jacket

An American national, who was arrested after a bullet was found in his jacket at the Sangster International Airport, in Montego Bay, was ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 when he appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Donald Ladd, 83, pleaded guilty to the offence of illegal possession of ammunition.

The court was told that on February 20, the investigating officer was on duty at the airport's security checkpoint when Ladd sent a jacket into the X-ray machine at the checkpoint. The machine detected a foreign object inside the jacket and, on closer inspection, the item was revealed to be a .44-calibre round.

The court was also told that Ladd, who had no previous criminal record, was a licensed firearm holder in the United States, and that he had told the police he had not been aware the bullet was in his jacket.

After hearing the facts of the case, and after being told that Ladd was scheduled to leave the island that same day, presiding magistrate Carolyn Tie decided to fine the defendant.

"Based on the fact that he pleaded guilty and it was an honest mistake, and the fact that he is a licensed firearm holder elsewhere, I will impose a fine of $50,000, or 30 days' imprisonment," Tie announced, before Ladd was subsequently led out of the courtroom.